


It's Coming on Christmas

by wabbitseason



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Gen, Warverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-12-25
Updated: 2002-12-25
Packaged: 2017-10-19 01:14:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/195252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wabbitseason/pseuds/wabbitseason
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christmas was about memories and Diagon Alley was filled with too damn many of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Coming on Christmas

A tall black woman with a sleek ponytail paused at a Christmas window display. Lost in the tinsel and lights, she barely noticed the crush of shoppers on the London street behind her.

A small band was playing Christmas carols on the street corner, breaking into "Deck the Halls". Some of the passing shoppers were humming along out of habit.

After listening for a few minutes, the woman moved on, wandering out of the crowded shopping district back towards her familiar part of London. She passed by some nattily dressed protesters waving picket signs and handing out flyers.

"End the war now!"

"You can't bring back the dead with war!"

 _You Muggles don't know the half of it._

Shaking her head, she headed into the Leaky Cauldron, barely noticing the huddled regulars, now noticeably fewer. She passed through the barrier into Diagon Alley.

The shops didn't seem so pristinely decorated as in previous years. Little children didn't scurry to the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies to beg their parents for the latest broom model.

 _Oh, Mummy, can we go in please?_

 _Not this time, Angelina, you won't be able to take one to Hogwarts in your first year._

Madame Malkin's shop looked almost deserted without the steady stream of students and their parents. The closing of Hogwarts had an immediate and chilling effect on the economy of Diagon Alley. More and more attention was turned towards the war effort. Those who didn't adjust didn't survive.

A chilly breeze whipped through the street. She could almost hear laughter on that magical breeze. If she turned a corner, she could almost see a forgotten friend. She could hail a Gryffindor teammate heading for the apothecary.

Pulling her coat closer, Angelina Johnson kept on walking. Christmas was about memories and Diagon Alley was filled with too damn many of them.

**Author's Note:**

> A fic initially written for a Livejournal RPG I was briefly involved with.


End file.
